New books out by Fenton Johnson, Crystal Wilkinson

Fans of Kentucky writer Fenton Johnson have a lot to cheer about in March. His latest novel, The Man Who Loved Birds, is released this week, along with reissues of two of his earlier acclaimed works, Crossing the River and Scissors, Paper, Rock. All are from University Press of Kentucky.

Set in the Knobs region of central Kentucky, the new novel brings together a trio of unexpected and unforgettable characters who explore the redemptive power of love: Brother Flavian, a Trappist monk has a curiosity about the world while on his short trips away from the monastery; Dr. Meena Chatterjee, an Indian-American doctor who sets up a rural practice; and Johnny Faye, a likeable renegade and pot-growing Vietnam veteran. The book speaks to social issues from police violence and harsh drug laws to immigration policy and matters of faith.

Johnson, a Nelson County native, teaches creative writing both at the University of Arizona and in the Spalding University MFA program in Louisville. He will read and sign books at 7 p.m. March 16 at Carmichael’s Books on Frankfort Avenue; 7 p.m. March 17 at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Crestview Hills, and 6 p.m. March 18 at Morris Book Shop in Lexington.

Crystal Wilkinson’s The Birds of Opulence

The Birds of Opulence cover(Photo: Publisher)

Kentucky writer Crystal Wilkinson, author of Blackberries, Blackberries and Water Street, has a new novel that explores love and loss in The Birds of Opulence (University Press of Kentucky).

The book centers on several generations of women in a southern black township known as Opulence. Minnie Mae, family matriarch and pillar of the community, is plagued by old secrets and embarrassment over mental illness. Kentucky poet and Centre College professor Lisa Williams calls the writing “breathtaking – lyrical and poetic without any pretension. ... Wilkinson is working at the height of her powers.”

Wilkinson serves as Appalachian Writer-in-Residence at Berea College and teaches in the Spalding low-residency MFA in Creative Writing Program. She will read at 7 p.m. March 10 at Carmichael’s; at 6 p.m. March 15 at Centre College in Danville, and at 2 p.m. March 20 at Morris Book Shop in Lexington.

Women’s History Month and “angry white men”

This year’s Minx Auerbach Lecture during Women’s History Month at the University of Louisville will feature author Michael Kimmel speaking on “Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era,” also the title of one of his books. The March 28 lecture is at 5 p.m. in Gheens Science Hall; it’s free and open to the public.

Kimmel, who advocates for men to support gender equality, will talk about resistance to modern societal shifts. His other books include Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men, Manhood in America: A Cultural History, The Politics of Manhood and The Gendered Society. He is founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities at Stony Brook University, where he is distinguished professor of sociology and gender studies.

Kentucky-Irish cooking

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day celebration, Lexington writer and award-winning cook Barbara Harper-Bach has published her 13th cookbook, The Irish-American Cookery Clinic. After discovering her family’s origins in County Cork, Ireland, Harper-Bach studied Irish cookbooks, including the quintessential work of Myrtle Allen’s The Ballymaloe Cookbook, in hopes of replicating unwritten Harper family recipes.

Last summer, Harper-Bach traveled to Ireland to learn more about family history and Irish cooking. She visited well-known Ballymaloe Cookery School, where she was a guest speaker about her cookbooks and exploration of her Irish roots. The new cookbook includes Harper-Bach’s recipes for everything from Irish scones to colcannon to Guinness beef stew, including notes that compare traditional Kentucky and Irish cooking.

Harper-Bach, 78, began her cookbook enterprise as a retirement business; she also regularly teaches cooking classes, including one scheduled for March 12 at Williams-Sonoma in Lexington. For more information, visit http://bluegrasscookingclinic.com

Middle-grade fiction set in coalfields

Saving Wonder cover(Photo: Publisher)

Saving Wonder is a debut middle-grade novel by Mary Knight (Scholastic Press) with a strong message about the power of language and the environment. Set in the eastern Kentucky coalfields, the story centers on a boy who lives with his grandfather after the tragic loss of his family in coal-related accidents. When Wonder Mountain is also threatened, he has to decide about how to save his beloved home.

The book was selected for the American Booksellers Association’s Indie Next List as one of the top children’s titles for the spring publishing season in the 9-12 age group. Knight is a transplant to Lexington from Michigan and Washington, and a graduate of the Spalding MFA program.

Self-help section

90 Days of Power: Daily Empowerment Journal by Cassandra D. Harris-Gray (Unlock Publishing) provides a day-by-day guide toward mindfulness and self-care through devotionals, prayer and daily inspirations called Creative Nuggets. Harris-Gray is an associate pastor at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Shelbyville.

Brand New Man: My Weight Loss Journey by Don McNay (RRP International Publishing) chronicles McNay’s experience crafting a weight loss and fitness plan that helped him overcome a lifetime of obesity. The author is a financial expert, journalist and Huffington Post contributor who used his business skills and meticulous planning to assemble a dream team of advisers to help him lose 110 pounds. He lives in Lexington.

Seeking Indiana writers

Flying Island, the online literary journal of the Indiana Writers Center, accepts submissions on a rolling basis from Indiana residents and those with significant ties to Indiana. The journal looks for fiction, nonfiction and poetry. For submission guidelines, go to http://www.flyingislandjournal.blogspot.com.

Louisville History Book Award

Emily Bingham has been named winner of the Samuel W. Thomas Louisville History Book Award for her 2015 book, Irrepressible: The Jazz Age Life of Henrietta Bingham (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The award, given by the Louisville Historical League, will be presented at 2 p.m. March 20 at the Frazier Museum. Bingham also will speak about the book to the historical league at 2 p.m. April 17 at the Conrad Caldwell House on St. James Court.

Paducah celebrates One Book Read

Acclaimed novelist Ron Rash (Serena, Above the Waterfall) will visit West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah March 8-9 to discuss his book Saints at the River, this year’s selection for One Book Read, the annual citywide book discussion. For more information, go to http://westkentucky.kctcs.libguides.com/c.php?g=385104&p=2667992

Kentucky Book Fair founder dies

Carl West, who founded the Kentucky Book Fair in 1981 and was editor emeritus of The State Journal in Frankfort, died Feb. 28 in Lexington after a stroke. West’s support for Kentucky writers and publishers helped build the Kentucky Book Fair into the state’s premier literary event and one of the largest book fairs in the country. The literary community and publishing workforce have greatly benefitted from West’s vision.

Jayne Moore Waldrop’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in New Madrid Journal of Contemporary Literature, Deep South Magazine, Kudzu, Limestone Journal, and Luna Station Quarterly.